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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24223762">what's a brownie</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangerchikin/pseuds/rangerchikin'>rangerchikin</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, brownies!!!!, please give them a break, please let them be boyfriends, trey has a big fat crush, vice dorm leaders being fluffy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:54:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,693</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24223762</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangerchikin/pseuds/rangerchikin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jade is a merman. He didn't know what brownies is. </p><p>Trey knew he has a job to do.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Trey Clover/Jade Leech</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>172</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>what's a brownie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i saw their interaction on their personal stories and thats it. thats it, they stole my heart like that. theyre so pure. please love them. and give them a well deserved break</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Studying in Night Raven College means you need to be ready for more than sitting in classes through lessons. In his position today, that feels as real as it should be. School was hard. Definitely enjoyable, but by no means easy. That was probably why when Trey was acquainted to Jade Leech, his first occurring thought was to be worried over that junior of his.</p><p>Being a third year student, having Vice Dorm Leader duties thrown to him is something he's rather used to. Trey was no stranger to many responsibilities, given the home he was in, where he has siblings to look after and a cake shop to run. But to someone like Jade, who was a year younger than him, Trey couldn't help but to be concerned. He's got a twin brother who's clearly dependent on him, and a demanding Dorm Leader no less than Riddle is. His sympathy was proven unneeded though, when he realized how well Jade was with handling his tasks. But that didn't stop Trey to notice that Jade was still the one who has to run back and forth to fix whatever mess Octavinelle was bound to be in.</p><p>One time, Jade came rushing to the Science Club, when Floyd embezzled the fruit supply in Mostro Lounge. That's certainly a trouble that no one would think emerge—except for Jade himself, because he looked like he's accustomed to it—and in the end, Jade was the one to fetch the solutions on behalf of the lounge. He asked for the strawberries Trey have been cultivating for cake making purposes in Heartslabyul, which Trey allowed, partly out of pity. He made Jade pay for the strawberries in the end, to make up for his own loss.</p><p>Trey wondered, if that had been one incident, naturally, Jade would've dealt with more ridiculous matters.That was the point when Trey thought it would be a good idea to exchange numbers. Just so when something like this ever happen again, Jade wouldn't have to literally make the run for it. It turns out that having Jade in his contacts rewarded him with knowing him better as a student, aside of the troubles he independently take care of.</p><p>Trey gathered, that being on land for barely a year hindered Jade from performing his best on flying class. And understandably, most things involving life on land. It would only be natural that Trey wanted to help. Being on a foreign land is much easier when you have a reliable guide. It's also convenient that they're on the same line of work, so there's more reason for staying in close contact.</p><p>They started to set up time to meet after classes, or anytime they could manage, because it's more often for them to both be caught up with dorm assignments than the other way around. When they get to meet, they're going to have stories to tell, like Trey's attempt to save Heartslabyul from Riddle's wrath yet again or how Jade got through Floyd and Azul who took their bickering too far. Despite the initial purpose of these meetings, more often than not, they ended up spending their time together to work on whatever duty their Dorm Leaders delegated to them.</p><p>Their preferred meeting place is the Botanical Garden. Simply because Jade is glad to be in touch with his stored, hand picked mushrooms, and Trey could tend to his strawberries when he needs to. Trey is also a member of the college's Science Club, so rightfully speaking, he has all the rights to utilize that space as any other members. There were also enough privacy, although not anything akin to the conducive study environment their library provides. Talking (loudly) is strictly prohibited there, but in the garden, there's enough silence without all the rules.</p><p>Today they agreed to meet at lunch. Their current agenda is to finish whatever task they have at hand, mostly dorm related. As much as Jade likes spending time with Floyd, when he's got a lot to carry out, he'd find somewhere better to be, not for long, just to take care of what he has to. Trey on the other hand, had no problem with doing his work in Heartslabyul, but change of scenery is always a healthier option for the body and mind. And Jade as a company have mostly been more helpful than not.</p><p>They fixed a desk for two, with enough room for documents and everything else. They found space in the garden where the light is forgiving enough to compromise for a study, and have settled there since.</p><p>There wasn't a lot of time from their lunch break to be doing work and simultaneously eat, but apart from that in mind, Trey could feel how gradually starving he got the longer he spent time staring the desk. He knew this is something he'd expect on lunch time, so he came prepared.</p><p>"You're not hungry?" Trey inquired, checking on his very much diligent companion.</p><p>Jade pried away from his paperwork to answer. "I had lunch."</p><p>"Then, if you excuse me." Trey unpacked his lunch box on the table, containing a rather large, square cut brownies he baked yesterday. Sometimes when cooking for Hearslabyul's tea party, Trey felt like he was out of touch with the less frequent cakes he'd serve on those parties. Brownies was one of them. Practicing those recipes now and then keep the steps familiar to him, and when that could easily be solved with cooking books, sometimes baking straight off those papers doesn't give him the same touch.</p><p>Trey's next lesson is history. He wouldn't need a crazy amount of energy to go through Trein's lecture, so he thought he's settle with his brownies just fine. He was eating a quarter of the cake when Jade seemed to be observing on his lunch. "Is something wrong?"</p><p>"No, nothing wrong. I'm just wondering," Jade started. "Is that a cake?"</p><p>"Yes. It's brownies."</p><p>"Brownies..?" Jade parotted him. He sounded curious more than anything. "I've never heard of such a cake."</p><p>Then Trey remembered. Despite looking very much like ordinary human, Jade lived the majority of his life in the ocean; he shouldn't expect him to be immensely knowledgeable of land sweets, let alone something as specific as brownies. "Yes. It's not something you'd expect of a cake, truthfully.. The person who invented it allegedly attempted to make chocolate cake, but forgot to include baking soda in the batter. Thinking it would've been a waste to throw it away, they gave it a try, and the taste turned out to be acceptable. Hence the brownies we make today."</p><p>Jade nodded over the explanation, seemingly thinking that he got the answer he wanted. He returned to his stack of papers to skim through the documents, conscious of his own unfinished duty.</p><p>Being the person he is, Trey didn't let it happen. "Do you want to try?"</p><p>"Me?" Jade averted so fast from his work, to Trey and to Trey's lunch box. "It's your lunch, Trey-san."</p><p>"I'm not dying for it or anything. I don't need to eat the whole box for myself." he scooped a sizable chunk and pick the piece with his fork, offering Jade for a try. "Go for it."</p><p>Jade looked hesitant. The brownie looked so inviting, and the smell was of undeniably good cocoa powder. "Truth is, I don't prefer sweets. I once tried a very sugary tea.... I'm not sure if I look forward to tasting cakes the same way."</p><p>Trey blinked. That was unheard of, to be traumatized of sugar. "Where did you get the tea?"</p><p>"Kalim," Jade confessed. "He meant to introduce me to his country's specialties, but that comes with a ton of sugar."</p><p>"Aah..." Trey felt the need to facepalm. So that's where that came from. If he knew from the beginning, he wouldn't have wondered at all. "The Land of Hot Sands is well known for their sweet beverages, but it's entirely different with cakes."</p><p>"I still remember how I thought all my teeth were going to fall off." Jade added. Even that description managed to make Trey's skin crawl. He would probably be twice as terrified as Jade, if he was in his shoes.</p><p>"Alright. I get where your fear is coming from, but I swear it's worth the try."</p><p>Jade didn't look convinced. But the furrow on his eyebrows showed Trey the determination to overcome his trauma. He bit into the fork, bracing for the taste. "...It's not awfully sweet," he muttered, the brownie still in his mouth. He looked relieved, as well as thoroughly enjoying the cake. Trey hoped he had the courage Cater has, to capture how adorable Jade looked on camera. That was certainly not the image anyone would have in mind while they thought of Jade Leech.</p><p>"No, its not. Too much sweetness will throw the chocolate off balance, and you'll have something no different to sugar cubes." Trey explained, gathering back his common sense. He couldn't afford to be all squeaky, like an excited school girl, for finding out how cute of a pair was Jade and sweets.</p><p>"Which I'd rather not think about." Jade took the fork that Trey left on the box, cut and picked another cube of brownie, then fed himself. He is digging every bite of this. The taste, the crunch on the sides, everything with the brownies was right. Trey wasn't lying, it's nothing like the horribly sweet tea he'd swear <em>not</em> to taste anymore.</p><p>"Kalim totally spoiled your perception of sugar, didn't he?"</p><p>"I wished to say he didn't. It would be a shame to throw away something that makes cooking taste better." Jade was about to help himself with another bite, then stopped. "Ah, pardon me. This should be yours, not mine."</p><p>"Hey, it's alright. I could easily make another. Eat while you can have it for free."</p><p>That did not seem to free Jade off his guilt. Polite as he was, he is contemplating whether to take Trey's words or proceed with common decency. "I shall repay you some other time."</p><p>"No need. Have some more." Trey was ready to push Jade into it, but did not expect a cube of the cake to be presented before his face. Jade was feeding him.</p><p>"It's only fair if you eat too." Jade insisted. "I don't like being indebted."</p><p>Trey almost laughed. Octavinelle's core motto doesn't leave him even now, it seems. "Fine, only because you said so." he bit the sweets off the fork, then watched as Jade coordinated his fork for the piece with the most crunchy edges.</p><p>Jade helped himself with some more of the treat, liking the idea of how good it was. "Do you think I could suggest this for Azul to be served at Mostro Lounge?"</p><p>"I don't know if that fits your theme, but it doesn't sound bad to me." Trey was still amazed, or rather, content with how much Jade ended up liking what he made. "I could help you with developing the recipe, if that's ever needed."</p><p>"That's really generous of you. I'll have Azul know of the cost."</p><p>"It's free. Come on, brownies isn't that complicated."</p><p>"I'm afraid your words fail to convince me this time." Jade chuckled. "Nothing comes for free."</p><p>"Right, alright." Trey felt how Jade's laugh was contagious and smiled himself. "How do you treat yourself back in your homeland?"</p><p>Jade hummed to the question. "I would admit it's rather simple. We appreciate the taste of raw food, you see."</p><p>"Raw food as in.." Trey was careful not to be rude. He had a completely different image of raw, unprocessed food... And hoped it wasn't the same to what they feed seals in the aquarium.</p><p>"It's cut and dressed like some of the food I've seen on land. For instance, octopus carpaccio."</p><p>"Oh. It's more familiar that I thought it is." despite how mildly concerning it was for Jade to mention a food that's in correlation to his dorm leader, Trey understood the reference.</p><p>"Merfolks are half human, after all. So I wasn't surprised to find the dishes I fancy at home is sold somewhere on land."</p><p>"Still, there's no better food than food at home."</p><p>Jade chuckled again. Trey found how he began to like seeing that on him. "I will agree only because nothing tops the carpaccio from Azul's family restaurant."</p><p>Trey prepared another set of questions for that, but he respected the tasks they neglected. It surprised him how well they end up getting along. It was good, for the most part, to have a reliable ally past his own dorm. He wondered why hasn't figured about Jade sooner. They could've made a better team had they knew each other earlier. Although younger, Trey now knew Jade was more than reliable as a partner. There's no question why Azul entrusted the position to him.</p><p>They had a good moment spent in silence, each being mindful of their own business. Then somewhere to fifteen minutes before the next class, Jade decided it was time to leave. "I had most of them done. I can bear doing the rest next to Floyd sleeping, if I have to." Jade declared, gathering his belongings to be taken with him. "Thank you for today, Trey-san."</p><p>Trey's sense of time also returned then, reminding he's still got class to attend. "My pleasure. I really didn't help much, so next time you're struggling with something, text me about it."</p><p>"I had the chance to try your cooking today, that's something."</p><p>"You weren't exactly struggling with food, though.." Trey scratched the back of his head over the excuse. It was almost like finding reasons to be thankful for the time they lost. That's flattering, in a way.</p><p>"I need to return. Floyd wouldn't be pleased if I'm absent for way too long."</p><p>"Understandable." Trey agreed. There were moments too, when he'd leave early like Jade did. "Take care."</p><p>He saw Jade's back leaving the garden, after parting with a smile. "Trey-san."</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>"When you have time, visit Mostro Lounge. Azul will be delighted."</p><p>"Sure, anything for Azul Ashengrotto." Trey returned with a sarcasm, unapproving of the constant mention of Azul in their conversation today. "See you around, Jade."</p><p>Jade's tall figure left the garden, and the moment he did, Trey got ready to be somewhere else as well. When he was stuck with silence and himself, Trey caught to Jade's words he didn't bother paying attention to.</p><p>"<em>Nothing comes for free.</em>"</p><p>That's a statement Trey would normally comply. But now that he reflected on it, he had appeared to be less than agreeing to it. He has been spending time with Jade, to help him with his studies, and sometimes work, free of charge. They've done this long enough that Trey wondered how much Jade felt like he was owing him—there's no such thing, really. He did this to Jade because he wanted to.</p><p>And while he did, Trey found himself questioning his own intentions. Doing his best to care for Riddle would be so reasonable as he knew he's going to leave the rest of his dorm to suffer had he not perform his duties. But helping Jade... He didn't gain much from it. Except, somewhat, it made him happy to be doing that to him.</p><p>That didn't sound right on its own. Trey grew aware of how everything involving Jade was rooted from the same reasoning. As an extension to that, he'd like to see Jade be healthy and doing well. That's a very baseless motivation, if you ask him. A hard one to deny, too.</p><p>Trey figured dwelling on it for too long is going to give him a headache, which wasn't something he prefer having when studying history. He will deal with whatever thoughts he had on Jade, when he has time.</p><p>Problem is, his mind didn't seem to let go of Jade. The smile he had to reward his brownies is still burnt well on the back of his head. Trey knew he wasn't thinking right. But he doesn't mind remembering that face for a while longer.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>leave kudos for SSR kalim and jamil because i know you want them &gt; u &gt; also i want brownies</p></blockquote></div></div>
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